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9 Vintage Fishing Lures Worth a Small Fortune

Posted by Brad Smith

Do you think you have some of these? If so, you could be in for a payday.

If you fish, chances are, you have a tackle box full of old fishing lures sitting in your garage. Back in the day, a lot of wooden lures were mass-produced and have almost no value today. However, there are a few diamonds in the rough, if you’re lucky enough.

What makes looking for old lures so fun is that you never know when one might pop up when you least expect it. After seeing these nine lures below, you may want to go check the garage.

Giant Copper Haskell Giant Minnow

If you have this lure in your tackle box, you just hit the lotto. It is estimated that only one of these actually exists. If by chance you have another, the one in the picture sold for over $100,000 at a recent auction.

Heddon Frog

In a lot of cases, they say when Heddon made this frog back in late 1800s, he sure didn’t make many. By many antique expert estimates, they say there are single-digit numbers of these frogs left in existence.

Shakespeare New Albany Bait

One bait that looks like every other old bait that you find but is absolutely not is the Shakespeare New Albany. If you do have something similar to this, fist make sure it’s a Shakespeare, then call an auctioneer. The last one sold for around $10,000.

Heddon Dowagiac Minnow

Multiple versions of this lure exist and every one of them is worth some money. If yours is in mint condition with the box, get ready for a pay day. These can range anywhere from $50 to $10,000 depending on the condition.

Moonlight 1913

Moonlight bait company made a lot of lures back in the day. It’s not surprising that most antique fishing lures you find come from this company. However, the few made in 1913 tend to be their most valuable. This Zig Zag bait has two sizes. If you have the box with it, you just found some gold in your tackle box. Both sizes are known to fetch up to $10,00 each in auctions.

Heddon Jenny Mohawk

This is one of the baits that has been known to may or may not exist. They are rare, to say the least, and the last one that came to market went for $20,000. The story behind that lure is hard to believe, considering it almost sold for $5.00.

Comstock Flying Hellgrammite

The flying hellgrammite looks like something a kid would make in shop class, however, it is worth a small fortune. With recent auction prices close to $10,000, this lure is worth walking out to the shed and looking in tackle box or two.

Friend-Pardee Kent Minnow

Produced in Ohio in the 1900s, there just aren’t many of these lures left. Seeing as they look like other antique lures that were mass produced, it’s easy to dismiss. If you have the box this lure came with, expect $10,000. If you don’t, about half that amount would be about right.